


The Haunted Mirror

by AlwaysEverlark



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anidala, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Drama & Romance, F/M, Gothic, Haunted House, Heavy Angst, Murder, Or not, Possession, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:20:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29232180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysEverlark/pseuds/AlwaysEverlark
Summary: “Nice to meet you,” Ben said politely with a low voice offering his hand.Rey blurted out what she wanted to say since his car passed by her that morning without any consideration of her well being under the heavy rain. “I can’t say the same”“I beg your pardon?” he asked, confused by her abruptness.Rey travels to a new country where she will find a house, a man and an old story that will haunt her dreams.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 14
Kudos: 44
Collections: To Find Your Kiss: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	The Haunted Mirror

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FangirlintheForest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangirlintheForest/gifts).



She was upset. No, that wasn't correct, she was pissed off… as hell.

She couldn’t help but to kick the tire of the expensive car in front of her.

“Asshole” she shouted to nobody when she recognised the car parked in front of his ‘grandfather’ mansion. 

The trip from California to Derbyshire had been super long, crouched in a tourism seat (because even if his deceased grandfather was wealthy enough, his lawyer didn’t think of booking a business class seat for her), she had rented a car at the airport that broke 8 miles away from the manor, and as soon as she stepped out of it, it had started raining. Cats and dogs kind of rain.

She only saw one car on her walk to the house. A car that didn’t stop to help her, even if she motioned with her hands begging for a rescue. The very same car in front of her right now.

In summary, she was late, jetlagged, soaked, and furious when she knocked on the door.

“Yes, May I help you?” said a blonde tall woman with an indistinctly British accent, that she recognized as her own.

“I’m Rey Johnson. I received a letter …” 

“Oh Miss Palpatine. I know who you are. I am Steph Phasma. I worked for him here at Varykino as his housekeeper” 

  
  


“It’s Johnson, as you might know, I never met my grandfather, nor knew he existed until a month ago when I received a letter from his lawyer”

“Would you like to change your clothes before meeting Mr. Snoke?”

“Yes, please. By the way, is the black Tesla park out there his, by any chance?” She asks innocently enough although she was boiling with rage.

“Oh no, that’s Lord Solo’s. He’s here as well about your grandfather’s will. Follow me” 

Lord or not Lord she planned to give him a piece of her mind, Rey thought. As soon as she stepped inside the house a cold chill ran down her spine and a weird sense of dejavu. But there was more, there was a familiarity in her surroundings … that filled her with dread. She only wanted this meeting to be over and she’ll be out of here in no time.

Only thirty minutes later Rey walked into a big library with floor-to-ceiling windows facing a beautiful greenish landscape, she wasn’t sure she had seen so much green before. Someone cleared his throat behind her and she turned around. She was struck by the man she found in front of her. He was tall and handsome and she felt an instant connection with him as he knew him, but she didn’t. Another dejavú then…she thought blaming the jet lag and lack of sleep.

She didn’t speak, neither did he. They stared at each other before another voice chimed in.

“Oh well, you must be Rey Johnson. I’m James Snoke, your grandfather’s lawyer, and this is Ben Solo. He was his right-hand man” 

“Nice to meet you,” Ben said politely with a low voice offering his hand.

Rey’s brain kicked in that moment and she blurted out what she wanted to say since his car passed by her without any consideration of her well being under the heavy rain. “I can’t say the same” 

“I beg your pardon?” he asked, confused by her abruptness.

“You, are the asshole that saw me out there under the rain with my suitcase and didn’t stop. I guess you thought I was ‘just’ a maid, not worthy of a Lord’s help”

He walked closer and towered over her when hissed “You don’t know me, but you’re clearly not worth my time”.

Before Rey could answer back, he walked away and sat in one of the coaches. “ Please, Snoke can we end with this farce?”

“Yes, please let’s proceed,” Rey added, sitting as far as she could from Ben. 

Snoke took another seat in front of them and started reading the document.

_ “I, Sheev Scott Palpatine, a resident of Varykino, Derbyshire, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and revoke all previous wills and codicils made by me, either jointly or severally.  _

_ This Last Will expresses my wishes without undue influence or duress.  _

_ First. After payment of my debts, expenses, and claims, I give my personal property and effects described below to:  _

_ To my granddaughter Rey Johnson, I leave Varykino property...” _

“What the fuck is this, Snoke?” Ben yelled standing “She gets Varykino? This wasn’t the agreement, and you know.” 

Snoke's stony face transformed with a sadistic grimace when he smiled and spoke out loud the following words “Ren, this letter explains it all” he said handing him a black and red envelope, “Now please sit down and let me finish this.”

Ben grabbed with fury the letter and walked to the window giving them his back. Rey could sense the tension and the anger in his shoulders. 

“Ok, let’s resume the reading of the will:

_ To my granddaughter Rey Johnson, I leave Varykino property, with the condition of not selling the property in the next 50 years. I leave her as well, all the lands, goods, furniture, art in the North, South, and West wings. _

_ To Lord Ben Solo, I leave all the belongings of the East Wing and he will be allowed to stay in Varykino Manor for the next 30 days.  _

_ Second: After payment of my debts, expenses, and claims, I leave the sums specified below to the following people: _

_ To the First Order Organization, I leave the amount of five hundred million pounds and my stocks and financial investments. _

_ To my granddaughter Rey Johson, I leave the amount of two hundred and fifty million pounds to be used only, exclusively in the maintenance of Varykino. She will have an allowance of a one percent for her own personal expenses only if she lives in the property 300 days per year” _

Rey gasped. she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was rich! She didn’t have to worry anymore about having enough money to pay the rent or to buy food. She couldn’t wait to call Finn and tell him everything _. _

Ben took her out of her thoughts when he stomped out of the room. Snoke’s eyes followed him and Rey observed how he was enjoying his fall. She couldn’t help to feel a bit sorry for him. 

\----------

Her days were busy full of new things. She started to explore the house and the gardens. Her room was bright and big, decorated in white and beige colors facing the South gardens. It was very sunny when the British weather allowed a peek of sun.

Her nights were  more intense than her days and she was beset by dreams . Her first night there, she dreamt with a young couple.

_ They were walking the corridors of Varykino, their hands touching briefly while walking. The man was tall, long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The woman was slender, elegant in her movements. She had chestnut hair in a braid bun and brown almond-shape eyes. Both of them were in their mid-twenties. The man stopped, looked around, and when he checked there was no one looking there and in their surroundings, grabbed her by the arm and pushed her into a dark room. Without losing time, he pinned her against the door and started to kiss her. She could feel her emotions, even the heat of their skin. Suddenly, as it happens when you dream, she wasn’t standing when she was a moment ago. She was embraced by the man, his lips on hers. His scent was vaguely familiar, and she was dizzy, about to pass out of the passion and heat she was feeling in her body, as anything she had felt before. He noticed she was overwhelmed and stopped. _

_ “Shhhh” he whispered nuzzling behind her ear, running his big hand through her hair. Rey wished she could freeze that moment and live in his arms forever. She leaned on him and raised her face to look at his face.  _

_ A shiver ran down her spine and the shock she was feeling was reflected in her features. _

_ “Hey, are you ok”? He asked. _

She woke up with a gasp. It was Ben, the man was Ben!

How had she gone from seeing an unknown couple making out in a room, to Ben and her  _ being _ that couple?

From that moment, all her nights and dreams were similar.

She would see the young couple smiling, talking, swimming in the lake, riding horses...but at one point she was no longer a spectator but part of the scene. And inevitably, the man was morphed in Ben.

Her dreams were rich and real. Her feelings, overwhelming. And her orgasms were shattering her world.

She couldn’t remember to come as hard in real life as she was doing in her dreams.

She woke up in the middle of the night flustered. Most nights she needed to get into the shower.

She should have felt ashamed for lusting about a man she couldn’t stand in real life however, she only wanted to stay in the cocoon of his safe embrace and make their imaginary nights last forever.

When the sun rose and life filled the house, she usually could get a glimpse of Ben most of the days walking through the gardens and woods or moving furniture outside the house or wandering through the corridors of the house. He was trying to keep their distance.

The few times they crossed, he avoided looking at her, but she could see the sadness in his expressive eyes. They were rich brown with golden veins, and they told her everything his owner didn’t want. Those eyes that felt like had been looking at her forever.

One week later, Rey saw Ben riding a beautiful brown horse. Moved by a commanding need, she walked out the house and went to the stable. 

When she arrived, she stopped at the entrance and took the image in front of her.

Ben was petting the horse mane softly. His face resting on the horse head. She couldn’t listen to what he was whispering.

“It’s a beautiful horse,” she said, interrupting the moment.

“She’s a mare,” he answered.

His voice echoed in each of her bones and her body reacted walking closer to him. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. “Sorry, I don’t know much about horses… or mares for what matters” 

“Clearly” he chucked. 

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his smile, punctuated with dimples. She had never seen Ben in real life, but she saw that same smile every time she closed her eyes regardless it was day or night.

“I’d love to learn to ride,” Rey confessed. “Since I was a child it’s been one of my dreams”.

“You’re lucky then, you have inherited all of them” he answered bitterly, all the playfulness of their interaction gone. He moved to get away but she stopped him.

“What’s her name?” her voice was small, and needy to her ears. She hoped he couldn’t tell.

“Naberrie. She’s been with me since she was born” his voice faltered and the sadness was noticeable from each pore of his being. “If you’ll excuse me, there’s something I need to deal with”

The void of his presence opened a hole in her heart. “Wait” she ran to him, “Ben, please”

It was the first time she called him by his name and he halted surprised “You can have her”.

“Excuse me?”

“Please, there are more horses than I need, and you clearly love her. It would be my pleasure if you keep her”.

“Why?” he questioned.

“Because you care for her and for this place”.

He nodded confusedly, looking at her with intensity and doubt reflected in his eyes, not knowing how to answer to her kind offering, but she smiled and nodded to seal the muted agreement.

When he finally left the stables, she felt lighter and happier than she had felt in a long time.

\-------

She was restless, she couldn’t sleep at all. The light of the full moon entering through the windows of the room was burning her skin. Her body was thirsty and aching with lust. She had touched herself thinking of Ben, but nothing was enough that night, all pale in comparison with his very real presence that afternoon. She couldn't shake him from her thoughts. It was excruciating. She was in pain of how much she needed him, she wanted him.

She stood up from the bed. She had to do something or she would become crazy. Just dressed in her white silk nightgown, she approached the door when she heard it. A low whisper calling her. Moved by an invisible force she walked through the dark house. She couldn’t see anything but surprisingly she didn’t need it, it’s like she knew the aisles and room she was crossing although she has never been in this part of the house. The East Wing.

Finally, she stopped in front of a blue door, holding the knob she opened it and stepped in. As soon as she was inside, she felt calm again. The whisper was now a low tune. She couldn’t identify the source of the melody. She walked to the windows first, thinking it was a sound from outside but quickly she realised, the tune originated in the mirror. 

Its call was magnetic, mesmerizing even. She stood there, following the shadows and lights reflected in the mirror, a dance of forces invoking the unknown. She didn’t see Ben until he was behind her. Their eyes locked in the oval mirror, their bodies barely inches apart. The heat of his body, warming hers

He moved and posed a hand on her shoulder, and then it happened. As it had in her dreams, the reflection of a couple morphed into another, but this time instead of seeing Ben and herself she saw the blond man and the petite woman.

“Don’t be afraid, I feel it too” he whispered in her ear

She turned around and laced her arms around his shoulders and kissed him for real, if she thought kissing Ben in her dreams was intense, the sudden taste of his tongue made her forget any other previous experiences, no one has felt so right in her life and she could only moan with lust. Without missing a bit Ben bridal carried to the bed, where they kept touching and kissing and coming until the sun raised. 

\-----

For that moment they became inseparable. There wasn’t a moment when they weren’t together.

He was teaching her to ride and she was teaching him how to fix a pair of old bikes they found in the garage. They took walks under the sun and rain, but most of the time, they were making love in that room that seemed to have a spell on them.

At night, she thought she could see the other couple in the mirror, but never so clear as the first night and when she asked Ben, he laughed and said it was the lack of sleep and endorphins messing with her brain and before she could protest, he brought his mouth between her thighs and she erased any thoughts not related to the man when was falling in love with. 

One rainy afternoon, they ended up in the library playing chess. Actually, Ben was playing chess and she was goofing around.

“You’re impossible,” he said laughing “are you really interested in chess?”

“Umm, yes… but you know what I’m more interested in,” Rey said tracing with her finger a vein on the back of his hand.

“I can imagine” Ben replied, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. “C’mere, I want to show you something”: 

He led to the back of the room and took a book from one of the top shelves. It was an old photo album. “This was my grandmother Padme,” he said motioning a white and black picture of a small smiley girl. “Varykino has been in my family for generations. She was quite a special woman, very determined. She was a prominent feminist and a socialist” he explains moving to the next page and showing a blurry picture of a beautiful teenager. “However, not everyone was ready for the liberal ideas of my grandmother. A noble being a socialist, can you imagine?” he laughs proudly.

“The  suffragette movement was targeted and  she received death threats but she never told anyone, when there was an assassination attempt on her life is when his father decided to hire security detail and reached out to Sheev Palpatine, your grandfather, as he had contacts in the military. That’s how Obi Wan and my grandfather, Anakin Skywalker started working for her. The three were young and immediately bonded, but Padme and Anakin fell in love” When he moved to the next page she saw them. The tall blonde man and the petite and beautiful chestnut that appeared in her dreams. She gasped and Ben looked at her confused for her reaction. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, please keep going,” she said trying to control her voice and her heartbeat.

“Anakin was a goner as soon as he saw her, but my grandmother tried to resist the attraction. She didn’t want to get married and ‘leave the fight’ as she called her commitment with the suffragette movement. But they were made for each other, and sooner than later, they fell in love.”

A sweet smile brightened his face when he talked about his family. Rey would have found it adorable, but she was terrified about the development unfolding in front of her eyes. The logical part of her was screaming it was impossible, her gut feeling, though, was telling something totally different and she felt a hole in her stomach.

“They were happy for a couple of years, but Anakin was very protective and Padme very independent. They started to fight but could navigate the crisis. When she got pregnant with the twins, my mom, and my uncle, it’s when my grandfather drew the line. He forbade her to go out of Varykino, but in one of his trips, she convinced Obi Wan to accompany her to a rally. When they got home my grandfather was already here, he had advanced his return as he was missing her”

“He was totally out of his mind, jealous of Obi Wan. He thought they were cheating on him: her wife and his mentor. From that moment things started to be very rough. Padme tried to put some distance between them for some time for the sake of the babies, and he agreed, staying with Sheev in his club chambers. But one night, for reasons not even your grandfather knew. He came back, burnt part of the house, and stabbed her. Palpatine found both of them. Padme, in a blood pool, and Anakin unconscious with a blow in his head. He could only save him”.

“He was arrested and found guilty. He was sentenced to death but before that passed this property to your grandfather, as he refused to believe that the twins were his own children.”

“Oh, Ben…” she said, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

“There's more. My family as you can imagine was a mess and that somehow was inherited by my uncle Luke and my mother Leia...and myself. We’re not close, you know? Not with my mom or my dad. I was a sensitive child, and a difficult teenager with anger issues, mad at the world… and we fell apart eventually. The only universal truth about my family is that everyone lies, they never explained to me about our family history, they made up stories to protect me according to them, but the truth was, they considered me weak or they didn’t trust me. I don’t know, the only thing I know is that I can’t stand liars.

I met your grandfather months after I ran away from my family. He told me finally who Padmé and Anakin were. He hired me and gave me a future. He treated me like family, like a son. He promised, also, to return me this property, and I, as the fool I am, devoted my life to him. I did things I’m not proud of, illegal things to help your grandfather's business to succeed, but when six months ago he came for my mom and her company I threatened him to report him. He agreed, but things started to change.. and here we are. Another person lying to me, he had his revenge with his last will.”

Rey took his face with her hands and kissed him “I’m sorry, Ben. I didn't know… “

“It’s not your fault,” he said kissing her with hunger. He raised her and sat her on his lap. “I need you” he sounded breathless.

“You have me..”

\------

Later that night when both were sleeping in her room, her dreams turned into nightmares.

_ She could smell the fire and felt Padme’s fear for their babies, for not being able to say goodbye to Anakin, if she was dying in the burnt by the flames.  _

_ She saw as well as Obi Wan took the twins and her and guided them outside of the house. It was difficult to follow him as the smoke was thick. Before she could exit, a hand grabbed her and pushed her into a room. Obi Wan didn’t realize and when he did it was too late and couldn’t go back inside. _

_ She was with Anakin, in the room with the mirror. His eyes were mad with fury and jealousy. _

_ “My love!” Padme exclaimed clinging to him, she was so relieved to see him again “I thought I’d never see you again” _

_ “Why is Obi Wan here?” _

_ “What are you talking about, Anakin? You know, he’s here to protect us, while you were gone. There’s no time to talk about this now, please we need to get out of here!” _

_ “No!” he yelled, for the first time, Padme felt real fear. “Tell me now. We’re not going anywhere until you confess the truth” _

_ “We aren’t sleeping together, Anakin! I’ve told you that. I have only loved a man, I will only love a man. It's you, Anakin. But you have to believe me, my love. We need to get out of here and we will make things work. I promi..” she stopped talking when she saw the knife in his hand. “is that a knife, Anakin?” _

_ At that moment the scene changed, and she was the one standing in that room surrounded by smoke and fire… and the man threatening her life was Ben. _

She woke up screaming and gasping for fresh air. Ben held her in his arms, trying to calm her for hours. But for the first time since they started their relationship, she didn’t feel safe in his arms.

During the next few days, her nightmares were getting worse and she started to have flashbacks during the days where she zoned out and Ben was beginning to worry about her. 

“Hey sweetheart, are you fine?” he asked with his velvety voice, the one he used only with her. 

She nodded absently. “Hey,” he said again, touching her face. She froze under his hand and he noticed it, hurt crossing his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Rey? I can’t understand how to help if you don’t talk to me” he pressured her for an answer, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. 

“I’m ok, it' s ok. I just need some minutes for myself, please? I need a shower” She lied.

She went into the adjacent bathroom and closed the door leaning into it. She let her body fall to the ground and breathed to calm her down. She was losing her mind and needed to talk to someone but she couldn’t speak about this with Ben. How was she going to tell him that she was scared of him killing her? How could she even start explaining that in her dreams, he was stabbing her, that in her dreams, he was Anakin and she was Padmé. That she could feel her blood leaving her body until her heart stopped and it was terrifying. 

She took her phone and dialed Finn’s number. When she heard his voice, she felt much better for a few minutes at least. 

“Hey, how’s everything peanut? You’ve been very quiet. Poe and I were wondering if you had forgotten your friends or if you had an affair or something”

She laughed, Finn could be so intuitive but she deflected. “What would you say that?”

They fell into an amicable and comfortable conversation, he was his oldest and most beloved friend, but she realized she couldn’t still tell him she thought the house was haunted by old spirits and a tragic murder.

At one moment, during her phone call with Finn, she heard Ben calling her.

“Rey?” He asked from behind the door. She didn’t reply “Rey, are you ok?” 

She knew she had to go out at some point. She whispered to Finn goodbye, promising him she’d call soon. She cleaned up her puffy eyes with cold water and breathed in before opening the door, to face a very stiff Ben in front of her.

“Why didn’t you answer me? I was worried”

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you with the shower…” he grabbed her arm and stopped her in her escape.

“Don’t lie to me, Rey.” He hissed between his teeth “don’t do like everyone else. I heard you. You were speaking to someone. What are you hiding me? Who’s Finn?” he tightened his hold in her arm, jealousy running through his veins.

She screamed in pain. “You’re hurting me, Ben. Let me go!” He realized what he was doing and immediately released her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t want…”

“But you did! You’re jealous, I wasn’t speaking to anyone. Go away! I want to be alone”

“Please Rey, I can’t understand what’s happening babe and it’s driving me insane. We were so good together, everything was perfect and from one day to the next one I can feel how you’re slipping through my hands.”

“Not now, Ben. I can’t do this now. Tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok, we will speak tomorrow” he approached her very slowly as she was a scared animal that could run from him at any moment, and placed a soft kiss in her forehead. “Goodnight sweetheart”.

Rey didn’t go out of his rooms in the next two days and Ben didn’t try to speak with her after the first morning when he spent hours talking to her from the other side of her door.

Her nightmares were getting worse, and more real, and she woke up from them, she didn’t have his arms comforting her. It was a double punishment. The person she needed the most, was the person that scared her to death.

On the third day, he knocked at her door. “Rey, you need to eat something, please”

“Listen, I know you don’t want to speak with me and I understand, ok? I just want to make sure you’re ok. I’m going to leave here a tray with food and some water. You can take that in, I won’t try anything but you need to take care of yourself.”

She heard the noise of something left by the door and then his heavy steps walking away. 

When she opened the door hours later, because she was starving, she saw him sitting on the ground on the opposite wall. He looked awful like he hadn’t slept since he left her bedroom. Her eyes were red and his face pale. She only wanted to run to him and kissed him, but those images were blurred with the ones of him stabbing her, with the ones of him being jealous… like Anakin. She didn’t know what’s real anymore. If she was dreaming about their past or their future.

That night where she was trying not to fall asleep to avoid her nightmares, she tried to reason to herself. There were only nightmares, there weren’t real… but her instinct told her otherwise. Those were more than nightmares, in those dreams, it was like she was Padmé or Padmé was her. It was like she had possessed her. Her body, her mind, and her soul, and she was terrified.

The next night, a strong storm started, when she opened the door, the tray with food was there but Ben wasn’t.

She decided to walk outside, and check if he had left. When she got to the stairs and looked down, he saw him there sitting on one of the steps, with a glass in his hands.

“Your friend called you” his voice cold and full of hate “You know, that friend you weren’t talking to the other day when you lied to me. You’re a little piece of work, aren’t you?”

“Fuck off, Ben,” She said hurt.

He laughed at that, mocking her “Oh I see, the little liar is angry at being called out for what she is, right?”

“Are you drunk?” she asked in disbelief.

“And what if I am? it’s not like you care”

“I want you out of this house now!” She said turning around to go back to her room, but he stood up and blocked her way.

“You can’t throw me away like garbage until Sunday. This is still my house until then, you dirty thief!”

A big thunder resounded inside the house and the power went off. They were only surrounded by the noise of the heavy rain and thunder and the flashes of the lighting.

He walked menacing towards her and she ran to the East Wing, but she could hear he was following her. She ended up in the mirror room, in their room, but before she could close the door, he pushed it with his door and let himself in.

“Here we are again,” He said motioning to the room. “Isn’t it poetic that everything ends where it started?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s easy Rey, You and I” she realised then, he was hiding his right hand behind his back.

“What are you hiding in your hand?” 

“Oh, do we want to play now, to tell the truth? so, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that isn’t happening. You don’t deserve the truth”.

She stepped back and her back touched the mirror. 

“Is that a knife, Ben?” She yelled at him shaking. “Don’t come closer to me, Ben”

“Do you think I’m trying to murder you? with a knife? Do you…?” and then the realisation of what she was thinking hit his features. “Oh, you do. You think I’m like Anakin.”

The only sound in the room was the wind howling outside the window, and the branches of the trees hitting the facade and glasses. The scene was ghostly and Rey was really scared, a storm was raging outside and inside the house.

“Show me your hand, Ben” He moved very slowly his arm until she saw he was holding a tiny box. 

“This was my grandmother’s wedding ring. I found it tonight when I was packing my last things, Rey. I was planning to leave tomorrow, but then I found this, and he called…”

The window exploded in millions of tiny fragments when a tree fell through it. One of the branches hit Rey and she fell.

“Rey..” he exclaimed and was beside her before she could even know if she was hurt, he went for her hand to balance her, and then it’s when it happened. Like the very same time they were first together, the atmosphere in the room changed and the mirror came to life. 

They were sucked into the scene that happened fifty years ago. They couldn’t move or nearly breathe, frozen by what was happening in front of them, inside the mirror. 

Everything was happening exactly as she had dreamt.  _ Anakin coming to look for Padmé, their confrontation, the knife… but then, he dropped it. _

_ “Is that a knife, Anakin?” _

_ “I thought, I might need it to open or break a door, it’s the only thing I found. Did you,... did you think I could hurt you?” when he saw the fear in her eyes, he understood “Of course you did, I’ve been acting like a madman. I’m sorry, really sorry. You have to believe I won’t ever hurt you. You’re my life” _

_ When he approached her, part of the roof collapsed due the fire and hit him in the head, Anakin was unconscious. _

_ “No, no! Anakin, wake up”  _

_ In that moment another person came into the room,... —a person Rey and Ben recognize as Sheev Palpatine.  _

_ “Oh thank God you’re here. Please help me move him” Padme begged. _

_ She was relieved, because for a brief moment she thought everything was going to be ok, they were going to be fine and they will grow up as a family with Luke and Leia but then, he took the knife from the ground and walked to her. _

_ “I thought we were never going to be alone, Padmé”  _

_ “Sheev, what are you doing?”  _

_ “You rejected me, you told me you never wanted to get married. I thought you were only young and needed a little push, so I hired that man that tried to kill you. I knew your father would come to me and I hoped that would bring us together, that we’d be spending more time together, and you’d finally realized you need me in your life. But you fell in love with him and I knew, your rejection was never because of your ideas, of your commitment, it was because of me, but I’m a patient man, Padmé and I knew I could get my revenge. It was easy to manipulate Anakin into thinking you were cheating on him. That boy has had trust issues since he was a kid. It was a matter of time you’d need your freedom. Finally, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for so many years. If you aren’t mine, you won’t be anyones”. _

_ He raised his hand and in a well-aimed movement, he stabbed her heart, blood splashing the mirror, the only witness of the crime, until this moment.  _

_ The scene disappeared and before the mirror faded back, Padme emerged with a smile in a silent thank you, she looked at Ben and nodded touching the ring in her right hand. _

The light kicked in, at that precise moment and the air in the room became real again.

“That’s what happened ?” Ben whispered.

“Yes,” She said “but Ben, I didn’t know until now. I’ve been having these dreams since I arrived at this house. I was dreaming with them before I knew they were your grandparents. I saw how they felt in love, but their faces and or faces changed at some point, and it wasn’t there anymore. It was you and I. The first night we were in this room together, I saw then in the mirror, but I went into a trance, I wasn’t myself completely, it was as if one part of me was possessed by her, and Ben, I think that happened to you as well, because you told me you could feel it too, remember? Then, after you showed me that album and I recognized them, I started having nightmares with their fights, with this night… but I never saw what happened after Padmé or I saw the knife in your hands.” 

“And you thought I was going to kill you, didn’t you?” he confirmed. His eyes were reflecting hurt and betrayal.

“You need to understand Ben, everything I dreamt from the first time, happened, It was happening to us also; The rides in horses, the lake walks… caring about each other. It was all over again. I assumed that if my dreams came true, my nightmares will also..” she said bringing her hand to caress his face.

“Don’t, please, Rey”

“Why? now it’s all over”

“Yes, you’re right”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she panicked. She had to make him understand that she cared about him.

“I know, but this is over. I can’t believe you thought I could kill you when the only thing I wanted was to let me love you, because I fell for you the first time I laid my eyes on you in that room. But I can’t do this” he turned around to leave but she called behind him

“Ben, wait. I care about you, I think I might love you”,  she cried desperately to his retreating back.

“No Rey, you don’t. My feelings were real, I wasn’t possessed by anything or anyone. I’ve been me the whole time. But you haven’t. I’m not sure what happened to you, but I’m sure you don’t feel what I feel because I’d never ever would have harmed you and if you really loved me, as you claim, you’d know. I’ll send someone to get and grab my things”.

————————-

1 Year later 

  
  


When Ben opened the door of his two-story house, his face said it all. He wasn’t happy to see her, and that thought disappointed her. Ben leaned on the threshold, he was in black, henley shirt stretching on his broad shoulder and sweatpants low in his hips. His eyes were hard on her and his beautiful lips tight in a grimace. He stood there in silence and she knew he wasn’t to make it easier for her.

He was more handsome that she remembered, more handsome than in their pictures together. She was attracted to him as a magnet since their first interaction. 

With a sigh Rey reacted “Hi, how are you, Ben?”

He looked at her in disbelief, shaking his head and running his hand all over the face. “What do you want, Rey?” 

The coldness of his voice cut her to her core and her heart clenched. “I… Can I come in...please? she stuttered.

Ben opened the door and gesture with his arm for her to walk in “Be my guest” 

His apartment was an open space, bright with big windows, modern and tasteful but soulless, very different to Varykino, and that broke her heart a bit more. Her traitorous heart, that skips a beat when she passed by him to get inside and could smell his scent. How much she has missed all of him. 

“Please sit down,” Ben said motioning a couch by the window, he decided to accommodate himself as far from her as she could.

“Would you like anything? Water, a soft drink?”

“No, thanks,” Rey said “how have you been doing”

He snorted before answering “are we going to do small talk now, Rey? After one year? You have my email you could have reached out to me. Listen I don’t have time, I have plans tonight with some friends so if this was all you wanted. You can tick the box and leave”

He stood up abruptly, and Rey felt a wave of emotions: sadness, loss but jealousy and rage also. She felt helpless and her eyes filled with tears.

“Sorry. I just wanted to give you this” she said, handing him a folder full with documents.'' Don't open it now, please. You can look at it when I’m gone… or after your dinner with your friends” she spat. “Oh shit, sorry I didn’t mean... I don’t know what I’m doing. This is all wrong. ” she said running towards the door “Bye Ben”

“Rey” he yelled after her but she couldn’t stop and slammed his door. 

As soon as she stepped into the street, she heard thunder and it started raining, of course it was going to rain, it was her destiny.

It rained when she met Ben, it rained the night she fell in love with him, and it was raining now that her heart had been irremediably broken.

She started to walk with no direction, she felt lost and wasn’t paying attention when she crossed Kensington street. Everything happened very fast: the sudden realisation that she was in the middle of a street, the sound of a car braking abruptly getting closer to her, and the feeling of two strong arms grabbing her at the last moment.

Ben. Ben’s arms.

“Fuck Rey, are you ok?” He said holding her tightly to his chest “what were you thinking. That car could have hit you, you could have died, Rey!” He said trembling under the rain. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold or because of her closeness.

“I am fine, Ben” she said, feeling calm and safe for the first time since he stepped out of her life one year ago. “I am unharmed, see” she tried to disentangle from him to show him, but he didn’t let her go.

“Why?” He asked.

“Why, what?”

“Why have you conveyed the property of Varykino to me?”

“The will stated I couldn’t sell the property but it didn’t say anything about transferring. Besides it’s yours, it is your family legacy” Rey answered, not lifting her face to his because she knew he would see it in her eyes. 

“Is that all, Rey?” Ben asked, his voice breathy and low. “Look at me, is that all?”

She stubbornly refused to raise her gaze, but Ben caressed her face and lifted her chin with a soft movement.

“Why?” He said once more.”Please, Rey..”

“Because I love you and…”

Before she could finish the sentence he crashed his mouth with hers, kissing her with a sense of urgency and passion that left her breathless. 

“I love you too” he confessed when they had to stop to breathe. “I’ve missed you every single second. It’s been a nightmare being apart from you” 

“Then, don’t leave me alone again” she replied pleading with her eyes

“I won’t sweetheart. You’re not alone” He said. 

“Do you promise?” She asked 

“I do,” he said, kissing softly on her lips.

“Let’s go home then. It’s fucking freezing.” Rey laughed holding his waist and ducking her head under his shoulder.

“Yes, let’s go home” Ben murmured in reply.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt:  
> Rey is living in a haunted house AU: Rey wakes up to hear knocking on glass. At first, she thinks it was the window until she hears it come from the mirror again.
> 
> I hope FangirlintheForest that you like the direction I took the prompt since I'm not super familiar to the horror fiction but I love the vibes of past lifes and possesions so this story is inspired by Kenneth Branagh "Dead Again" and A.S Byatt "Possession"


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